Some of the stitches have come out," she fussed to Sing Cho, who was squinting in the darkness and giving his handiwork a solemn inspection. "Should not ride," Sing Cho scolded. "Should not herd cattle." He trotted away to fetch his satchel from the supply wagon. "Should not make babies," Steven whispered, bending toward a worried Emma and kissing her on the tip of her nose. Emma was blushing, remembering how wanton she'd been-she the seducer, and Steven the seduced. It was probably her fault that his sutures had come open. "Be quiet!" she said, out of guilt and impatience. He grinned. "I hope I put a child inside you tonight," he said in a voice that was just a tone too loud for Emma's comfort. She lowered her eyes, hoping the same thing, and more. She wanted the baby, but she needed for Steven to be with her all the while it was growing up, too. She had borne so much loss in her life: Grammie, her mother, Lily, Caroline. She could not lose Steven, too; the thought was incomprehensible. "We can't go to New Orleans," she whispered. "We have to run-make a new start somewhere else-" He laid an index finger to her lips just as Sing Cho returned with the dreaded needle and spool of catgut. "I want my birthright, Emma," he said with quiet sternness. "I want my share of Fairhaven." "Enough to die for it?" Emma said in a strangled voice, as Sing Cho edged her aside to sew up the place where Steven's wound had split. This time there was no whiskey to deaden the pain, and he grimaced as the needle bit into already tender, inflamed flesh. "I'm through running," he insisted. "It's time I fought for what's mine." Emma turned away, unable to bear his suffering anymore, covering her eyes against the terrible images that flashed through her mind. Ignoring
( Linda Lael Miller )
[ Emma And The Outlaw ]
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